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Talk:Shogun Empire/@comment-108.180.75.200-20130814071722/@comment-75.36.165.174-20131116011125
That doesn't even come close to being the truth. If nobody paid attention to Japan until Pearl Harbor and the broader attack on the West that it was a part of, then why in God's name did the West slap down the numerous embargos against Japan that lead to Pearl Harbor and its' kin in the first place? In fact, how did Japan even build up a "pretty large military relatively quickly" that was capable of posing a threat to the Chinese, Russians, and the West and using Western technology and organization without anybody else noticing it? As much as I hate to say it, even The Last Samurai made more sense. Japan was *intimately* connected to the wider world after Perry blew the doors open. The reason why it was capable of building up a "pretty large military relatively quickly" was because it opened its' doors to the West and it and thousands upon thousands of people from the rest of the world helped modernize it ASAP. Heck, before the second war with China the Japanese had already: 1. Made alliances and deals with most of the West, and made other deals with Russia and Germany. 2. Modernized. 3. Gone to war with China over Korea and the South Chinese islands. 4. Won and negotiated a settlement with foreign mediation. 5. Alarmed Germany, France, and Russia enough to force a revision of that settlement. 6. Fought against a Chinese uprising in coordination with Western powers. 7. Gone to war with Russia- a European power- over 5, Korea, Manchuria, and the Northern islands. 8. Won and negotiated a settlement with foreign mediation. 9. Gone to war with Germany and its' Central Power allies, seized a huge chunk of their Pacific colonies, and got rich being a loan-giving nation. 10. Took advantage of WWI to worry the world and alarm China by forcing several major concessions. 11. Was one of *the* major powers at the treaties to end WWI in spite of *being barely involved at all*, during which they were forced to relinquish 10 and one of the colonies they had captured back to China. 12. Sustained a major war in Russia to fight against the Soviets, which alarmed the Dovish (Read; Idiotic) American General in charge, who spread word back and caused foreign and domestic opposition to it until the Japanese left. 13. Been party to numerous massive international treaties amongst the Great Powers (recognizing its' status as one) such as the Washington Naval Treaty. 14. Broke its' alliances with the West and made alliances and deals with Germany and Italy. 15. Had an army mutiny decide to randomly go invade a major region. 16. Been investigated and condemned by a League of Nations research group. 17. Created a massive stir when they walked out of the League of Nations. So no. The idea that nobody noticed is just the opposite of the truth. Just about *everybody* noticed. It's just that the West didn't want to fight a two front war when they were gearing up for one in Europe, and especially not with a nation that had been a major ally and valuable business partner for close to a century.